Ham Hock Identity Crisis (20/40/60 : Day 4)

I’ll be the first to tell you, we certainly aren’t Southern. We might be considered Yankees. We are decidedly Midwest, but really, what does that mean in terms of food? To me, it means that we get to pick and choose our food identity. What we are left with is the best of all worlds.

So that means, that in my freezer, there is a ham hock sitting right next to pierogies.

The ham hock makes a appearance today.

Southern green beans and new potatoes. This was a standard growing up in my house, but I normally only ate the potatoes because my deep love for green beans only showed up a few years ago.

This sad beans have been sitting in our crisper for at least three weeks. Normally I’m a fan of steaming green beans, but these green ladies were way too far gone to have the right texture for steaming.

Simmered for almost an hour with previously mentioned ham hock, an onion, garlic and some chicken broth.

Threw in some quartered red and yukon gold potatoes to boil at the end.

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until just softened. Add beans, broth, garlic powder, and ham hock. Add water until it just covers the beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until cooking liquid turns a deep green/brown and beans are well-done. 20 minutes into simmering, add potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve by straining cooking liquid using a slotted spoon.

We served ours as a side to classic roasted chicken. There is no easier way to build a base for a ton of meals than to roast a chicken. I plan on getting at least 3-4 meals out of this one 4 pound chicken.

Simplest recipe ever. Wash and pat dry chicken. Salt inside and out. Add other seasonings you like (I did thyme and rosemary). Roast at 450° until a meat thermometer reads 160° (for safety, it needs to get up to 165°, but it’ll get up to that during the resting period).

Had a leg and thigh, because I love the dark meat. Mmm, so flavorful.

Finished it up with a piece of chocolate.

You say, “but Cass, where is your lunch?” Well, I told you I might make zucchini muffins.

My “lunch” was some combination of a few of these mini muffins and licking the bowl of the mixer. Yes, I know there is a huge salmonella outbreak and I probably shouldn’t be consuming raw eggs. But I also know exactly where my eggs come from. And really, really like muffin batter.

Made 48 mini muffins, which will be perfect for breakfasts for the next few weeks. Going to pop these into the freezer, before my husband eats them all.

These are rockin’! Just a little sweet, with a warmth from cinnamon. And the zucchini keeps them so moist. I used this recipe as a base, but added more shredded zucchini, no raisins and threw in a hemp powder sample I’ve had in the pantry for months.

I’m off to go make some stock out of the remainder of the chicken bones. Puppyface loves roasted chicken days, because she gets some drippings poured over her kibble. Lucky lady. Happy Saturday, kids!

7 Comments

Looks yummt. I know right now you are doing your challenge right now but I have a wonderful brine for chicken if you are interested. It is especially yummy when you want to roast the chicken whole on the grill.

Doug is a big fan of everything steamed when it comes to veggies. Though I think if we could barbecue, it would be everything grilled. We have some red potatoes that are on their way to growing arms and legs, so we needed to do something with them fast, and this would have been the perfect recipe!

Hi Cassie! I’ve been following your blog for quite some time now, I am pleased to see you now have a website! Yay domains! I can’t wait to keep on keeping in touch with you!
The muffins look delightful!
-Madison

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I'm Cassie. I’m a Midwestern girl who loves creating, cooking, and eating healthy food. If I’m not in the kitchen, you might find me playing in the garden, working on a sewing project, or dancing to oldies music.

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